The Girl In The Portrait
by QueenOfBabble
Summary: In a back corridor of Hogwarts, one that anyone had hardly entered since the classrooms in this part of the school were no longer used, there was a portrait of a seventh-year Gryffindor. And this is her story.


The Girl In The Portrait

In a back corridor of Hogwarts, one that anyone had hardly entered since the classrooms in this part of the school were no longer used, there was a portrait of a seventh-year Gryffindor. It was a girl with silky brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to be probing your mind. It was quite disconcerting. She was wearing her uniform robes, holding her favorite book, and pointing her wand at something.

Unlike many portraits in the castle, the girl was sad. She had not seen a person in over ten years. She was the only portrait in the corridor, for when the classrooms had been declared unnecessary, the other portraits had been moved. But, somehow, she had been forgotten.

That is, until one cold December morning. The corridor was entered for the first time since the classrooms had been closed. The entrant was a seventh-year Gryffindor named Lily Luna Potter. Lily had always been the inquisitive sort, so when she had seen this disused corridor on the Marauder's Map (passed to her by her older brother James, who had stolen it from their father), she had immediately become curious.

Lily walked down the corridor, her footsteps echoing against the empty stone walls. The atmosphere was rather creepy, and there were spider webs all over. As Lily accidently walked through her fifth cobweb in three minutes, she made a mental note to take a very long shower after all of her exploring was said and done.

"Hello?" she heard a strong but blank voice call out. Lily was startled, to say the least. She had believed herself to be the only one here.

She followed the continued calls until they lead her to the portrait of the sad Gryffindor. The portrait and the human looked at each other, blinking in surprise. Although the two didn't recognize each other, they felt something between them. A bond, perhaps.

"Who are you?" the portrait-girl croaked, her voice raspy after her long silence. She was not suspicious, but curious. Lily was curious as well.

"I'm Lily Luna Potter, a seventh-year Gryffindor and Head Girl," Lily answered politely, "And who might you be?"

"I'm Samina Ulsan," the portrait-girl croaked, "I was, in my life, Head Girl and a Gryffindor as well. Might you be related to Logan Potter?"

"I believe so…" Lily pondered the name for a moment, "I believe he was my great-great-grandfather." And that's when the light bulb went off in Lily's head. "Oh! You must be my great-great-grandmother Samina!"

"I suppose so," Samina sighed, "As this portrait was done when I graduated Hogwarts, as valedictorian no less, I only retain the memories from that point and before."

Their eyes both reflected their sadness. Lily was sad because she would have loved to hear more about one of her ancestors, and Samina because she knew nothing of her future.

"Tell me, young Lily, about my descendants," Samina requested, "I would like something to ponder, for all I have ever had to ponder has been pondered during my lonely stay here."

"Let's see…you and Logan had three children: my great-grandfather Alexander, my great-grand-uncle Thomas, and my great-grand-aunt Stephanie," Lily began, "Thomas and Stephanie both died unwed, but Alexander married Isadora Lyons, my great-grandmother." Samina nodded for her great-great-granddaughter to continue, a few tears running down her face for her two unwed children that she (the portrait) had never known.

"Alexander and Isadora had only one son: my grandfather James. Alexander and Isadora died when James was seventeen, but they left him with most of the Potter family fortune, as well as much of the Lyons family fortune, for Isadora had been an only child. James eventually married Lily Evans, my grandmother, and the girl he had loved since his first day at Hogwarts.

"James and Lily had one son: my father Harry. They died when he was only one, at the hands of the most evil wizard in the world. His name was Voldemort. Harry had to live with his aunt, uncle and cousin who were very cruel to him. But, once he began attending Hogwarts, he also spent much of his time at The Burrow, home to his best friend and also to his future wife, my mother Ginny."

Lily continued to explain Harry's story to an enraptured Samina. By the time she had finished, and checked her watch, it was nine o'clock, three hours since Lily had left the Heads' Dormitory. She still had some time before she had to return to the main part of the castle, considering it was Christmas break, and most students (and teachers) would still be asleep.

"Samina, what was my great-great-grandfather like?"

"Well…he was very kind. And generous. Brave, funny, loyal, intelligent, trust-worthy. And extremely good-looking," Samina smiled at this thought, the first smile in many years, "He was the pride of Gryffindor. I only beat him out to be valedictorian because he was also Quidditch Captain, and the Headmaster deemed it unfair for Logan to be all three of the most coveted student-positions in the school."

Lily stared at her great-great-grandmother's seventeen-year old portrait in awe. Samina's description of Logan Potter sounded a lot like how Lily would describe Dusten Howell, the Head Boy. Did this mean…?

"Were you in love with him, then?"

"Oh yes," Samina sighed happily, "Very much so. I knew, even at such a young age, that Logan and I were meant for each other."

Lily looked down at her watch again, and saw that it was somehow ten o'clock! "I am very sorry, but I have to go," Lily stated regretfully. Samina's face turned sad once more.

"But don't worry!" Lily reassured her, "Now that I know about you, I'll make sure that you will no longer be alone!" And with these last words, Lily rushed away, leaving a depressed Samina in her wake.

* * *

Days later, Samina awoke to the sight of four boys and Lily. The boys looked to be Gryffindors, and they were all looking at Lily. She seemed to be giving them directions.

"What is going on?" Samina inquired. Lily's eyes, as well as the boys', snapped up to look at her. Lily was smiling widely.

"I've received permission from the Headmistress to move you into the main part of the castle. You'll be going into the Heads' Common Room, so that I can chat with you whenever we would like."

This statement caused Samina to burst into happy tears. This would probably be the greatest gift that she had ever received. To be lonely no longer!

Samina continued to cry as the four boys, under Lily's careful guidance, carried the portrait up to the Heads' Common Room. The portrait was then propped against the couch, and the boys dismissed. "I'm going to use an Affixing Charm on you," Lily warned the portrait-girl, "You'll be on the wall next to another portrait I discovered yesterday."

Lily proceeded to stick Samina's portrait to the wall. When all was said and done, Samina was overjoyed. Then she also received the greatest shock of her portraited life. The other portrait that her great-great-granddaughter had discovered yesterday was the portrait of Logan Potter as Head Boy!

Logan and Samina were overjoyed to see each other. Actually, they couldn't believe their eyes at first. Once they were released from their surprise, they spoke no words. Instead, they received each other in a passionate kiss. Lily averted her eyes, a grin adorning her face.

And so ended the tale of Samina Ulsan, the lonely portrait-girl. She had gone from a state of unending loneliness, to a state of unending bliss. And it was all thanks to her great-great-granddaughter, Lily Luna Potter.

* * *

**A/N: If you care, my inspiration was this painting. Just take out the spaces.**

**http:/ akirichan. deviantart. com/art /Hogwarts-Portrait -in-pastels-78845567? q=boost%3 Apopular+Hogwarts +portrait&qo =0**

**This is a beautiful painting, and I loved it so much that I thought that it deserved a story.**

**R&R!**


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